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Tracking number scams - why is Ebay enabling sellers for this fraud?
I recently purchased a shelving unit, from a seller in China. The seller had over 800 items sold and almost 100% positive feedback. The item was the last one (of five), and was shipping from China, which showed a several week arrival time. The price was decent but not a firesale price, so no obvious red flags. I was ok with that lead time, as I could wait, so the purchase was made. I received a Fedex tracking number the day after the purchase and was surprised a day later to see notice that my shelves would be arriving early. I was even more surprised to see that the item went from China, to Singapore, to Anchorage, AK, to New Jersey and just five days after the initial label generation, was showing as out for delivery. My surprise immediately turned to suspicion when I checked the delivery details and saw it was to be delivered from a Fedex hub 1.5 hours from where I live, to a location a similar time away from where I live. And the package had tiny dimensions and weighed a fraction of what a shelving unit should weigh. When I attempted to login to check delivery details, Fedex wanted to verify me with a text to a phone number, where the four digits did not remotely match my phone number. And finally, the Fedex delivery photo showed someone's floor that was definitely nothing like anything inside or outside my home. I was convinced that either I was scammed or that perhaps, the seller had made mistake and mixed up tracking numbers.
So I contacted the seller about the latter situation. I received a generic "Our support is closed; we'll get back to you as soon as it is open". Multiple days passed, with no response from the seller. The dozens of items the seller had listed for sale disappeared from their storefront. I eventually found a way to report to Ebay that the item was not delivered (but not from a dropdown on My Purchases page), which gave the seller three days to respond. On the last day, the seller pasted a response in Chinese, which I translated as "I have shipped and delivered". And miraculously, a second tracking number was added to my purchase at the same time, as alleged proof. This tracking number was from USPS and when I checked origin and destination, the dates roughly matched with when I made my purchase and when it should have been delivered. It originated in Utah and was delivered to my ZIP code, but obviously details about the exact address, package size/weight were not available. The delivery occurred almost two hours after USPS normally delivers our mail, as well.
After the seller provided the second tracking number, Ebay ruled immediately in the seller's favor. And I eventually discovered how this scam works, because up until a few days ago, I wasn't sure what happened, but I was pretty certain I had been scammed.
I've read other posts with advice, which suggests you'll generally lose the first round with Ebay. You may or may not win the appeal. Disputing it with Paypal isn't a guarantee; disputing it with your credit company will usually get your money back, but may leave the seller with their ill-gotten gains. The recommendation is to turn to Ebay's social media channels and post there, as those locations are monitored by US-based support, who have the power to remedy a situation.
But, I don't have any social media accounts and I'm not about to create any.
Why does Ebay not provide a bonafide support mechanism that does not rely on a social media post to get answers? I understand having to get through a first-tier support made up of bots, but there ought to be a mechanism with the Ebay website that a logged in buyer or seller can get real support after they've defeated the first round of AI.
Why is the burden of proof on the buyer to prove they have been scammed?
Why can the buyer provide a tracking number that shows delivery ONLY to a ZIP code, as proof that the package was delivered? Ebay's willingness to accept this information as proof is one of the primary reasons this scammer is able to get away with the scam. And Ebay's willingness (in my case) to completely ignore the first tracking number, and accept a second number entered the day the dispute was supposed to close just doesn't set well with me. The barrier for acceptable proof appears to be simply for the seller to provide a tracking number that ends up in a ZIP code.
This is not some new, unknown and undetected scam. Just a little Google-fu enlightened me to how it works and it's disappointing that Ebay continues to enable sellers in perpetuating it.
justin36968
·11 months agoI was robbed also 116$ from China UNI UNI alleged shipping company and that was 48 days ago. Nothing arrived, seller won't refund, and ebay denied refund and appeal. So apparently ebay is open about this criminal behavior its disgusting to be comfortable with theft like this.
mudshark61369
·11 months ago@justin36968 ,
You should have started your own topic/discussion, not piggy backed your issue on an older one, that will soon be locked.
If the tracking number you received in your Order details had a delivered scan in your zip code, that is why ebay denied your Item Not Received (INR) dispute. The original INR you filed was looked at by a computer that only looks for a Delivered scan in your zip code, if it sees one the seller wins.
Because of federal postal regulations, ebay cannot access the shipping label's ship to: address or the package type/size/weight information, since they are not a party to the shipping contract.
If the tracking number was a USPS one you can try getting a note on USPS stationary. (UPS & FedEx will not give you the info you need) To get a note from the USPS go to your P.O., You need to bring a copy of your order details page which shows your address and the tracking number with you. If you bought using a phone or tablet, you can bring that to show the clerk the order details. You want to ask the clerk to check the label address against yours on the order details page, and also to check the Package type/size/weight info to see if was is appropriate for what you should have received. If you can look up the Mfr.'s specifications for the item and bring that with you as well.
If the info does not match up, you ask the clerk or Postmaster to write a note on USPS stationary saying in general that the shipping label's address was not the same as the one on your ebay Order Details page, and if applicable that the package type/size/weight was not right for what you should have received. Do not ask them to write specific address or package info, they cannot give it out. Have the clerk or Postmaster print their name then sign and date the note.
You can then Appeal, by going to one of ebay's social media platforms (links below) send a private message and add a CLEAR photo or scan of the note to the appeal. That should be enough to win the Appeal and get a refund. The reps who man the social media site's have the power to overturn a lost appeal and issue refunds.
You want to give them the seller's username, ebay item number, write out what happened and that you lost an appeal. then add a scan or Clear photo of the USPS note to the message, then sign it with your real and ebay username. You should hear back from them fairly quickly.
https://www.facebook.com/eBay/
https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/
https://x.com/askebay
essamgorgi
·11 months agoReport fraud/scammed seller Bi06-7 located China with tracking number USPS # 9400150206217279567865 the item No.5365500671 on Sept 20 and the item hasn't been received yet and the package delivery a different address
Why can the buyer provide a tracking number that shows delivery ONLY to a ZIP code( Staten Island 10303), as proof that the package was delivered? Ebay's willingness to accept this information as proof is one of the primary reasons this scammer is able to get away with the scam. And Ebay's willingness (in my case) to completely ignore the first tracking number, and accept a second number entered the day the dispute was supposed to close just doesn't set well with me. The barrier for acceptable proof appears to be simply for the seller to provide a tracking number that ends up in a ZIP code.
mudshark61369
·11 months ago@essamgorgi ,
" Ebay's willingness (in my case) to completely ignore the first tracking number, and accept a second number entered the day the dispute was supposed to close just doesn't set well with me".
If in your order details it shows the original tracking number you received, tke and save a screen shot of your order details page. In the message you received saying the dispute was closed in the seller's favor, there is an Appeal button. Appeals are checked by a live person not a computer which only checked the 2nd tracking number the seller entered in their reply.
When you appeal you can tell the rep to check the screen shot of your order details showing the tracking number the seller posted which was not delivered in your zip code, That the tracking number the seller replied to the dispute with is different, and add the screen shot of your O.Ds. page. That should be enough for them to reverse the original decision.
In the future Never buy from China based sellers. They are responsible for 99% of the fake tracking scams on this site.
12345jamesstamps
·1 year agoIt's possible the seller from China was doing 'drop shipping'.
Seller finds a store with same zip code as yours in or near you.
I wouldn't think a seller is going to ship a shelving unit from China when we in the USA have thousands of stores that sell them.
I always look at eBay ID seller feedbacks and country they live in.
And then check seller shipping as to the seller only sells in the USA or all countries
If you see a seller stating item shipped from China but only ships in the USA in the shipping category of countries...that's usually 'drop shipping' even though seller has China as their shipping from country.
There is not much customer service these days...buyers have to learn from mistakes of the past to shop in the present and future.
I don't have any social media accounts either...I agree with you.
Why should we go to Facebook for a solution dealing with eBay...do people on Facebook go to eBay for a solution to a problem?
simba6
·1 year agoIt's the fastest growing scam out there. It's well surpassed the drained gift card scam. We are all confused as to why nothing is being done about it.
ittybitnot
·1 year agoWhy does Ebay not provide a bonafide support mechanism that does not rely on a social media post to get answers?
@kmyer
That would one, require that eBay admit there is a problem, and two cost them money they won't have to pay out if you give up and go away because you refuse to use social media. Nobody says you have to make friends, share pics of your dog, or what you had for dinner. It is a means to an end that is NOT published in any eBay policy page aka "there is no fraud here". Just so you know, if you file "Item not Received" with PayPal or your credit card you are likely going to lose there as well. The claim is submitted to eBay who responds with the same phony 'delivery' confirmation. Nobody is going to check. The correct claim would be for FRAUD/SHIPPED to WRONG ADDRESS/FAKE TRACKING SCAM.
I just posted a lengthily post to another victim just a few minutes ago in this thread. See post #5 since I would likely give the same information to you.
Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.
roccotacodad54
·1 year ago"I recently purchased a shelving unit, from a seller in China. " is your problem. Too bad you had to find out the hard way.
I know false tracking scams aren't all from Chinese sellers but alot of them don't seem to see anything wrong with cheating American buyers. A lesson I learned the hard way.....ONCE.
house*of*paws
·1 year agoHi @kmyer
eBay has been especially slow in devising a reasonable method for a buyer to deal with this very common scam.
For that reason, I recommend that the buyer first confirm with the shipping company that their name and address is NOT on the package with the tracking number they were given.
AND THEN I recommend they contact the Fraud Department of the credit card company they used to pay for the item. CC companies are well aware of the ‘fake tracking number scam’ … and should handle the refund in an efficient manner.
mudshark61369
·1 year ago@kmyer,
In your post you wrote two things that raise a question.
" I received a Fedex tracking number the day after the purchase ... On the last day, the seller pasted a response in Chinese, which I translated as "I have shipped and delivered". And miraculously, a second tracking number was added to my purchase at the same time, as alleged proof. This tracking number was from USPS"
What I want to know is: Were both tracking numbers posted in your Order details? Was the USPS one posted in the dispute console as a reply? How did you receive it?
I ask because even though it has been several years since I accidentally posted the wrong tracking number to a buyer's purchase, when I realized the mistake within 15 minutes, and tried to put in the correct one, the system would not allow me to do that, so I had to message the buyer with the correct one.
In the listing you bought from which you should be able to open from your purchase history. Just under the Item Price you should see:
Shipping: (a Price or Free) then the shipping company/method and See details
If you click on the See details button it opens a pop up page. In it the shipping method should be stated. If it showed FedEx then that is how the seller was supposed to ship and should be pointed out in an Appeal or social media post.
fbusoni
·1 year ago@kmyer
Sorry this happened to you.
To my mind it's less eBay perpetuation than it is eBay neglect.
From what I have seen over all the years I have sold here, eBay will only take action if there is a threat of some sort to its bottomline.
I reckon that the number of victims of this phony tracking scam is so small (relatively speaking) that eBay just cannot be bothered to address it.
Which does seem odd on the face of it, given the otherwise pretty seamless integration between eBay and USPS computers.
Incidentally, when you use social media to contact eBay, you are not "posting" your problem for the world to see... you are in fact sending a private message to an eBay rep. I've used the Facebook service a few times and have always received top of the line support. (as for why eBay does not offer such support via its own website... an excellent question... perhaps there is some sort of expense-sharing arrangement between eBay and the social media companies with which it works? )
FWIW, I do not / not buy anything on eBay, although if I ever did, it would be only from a US seller with 100% positive feedback.
mudshark61369
·1 year ago@kmyer,
"I recently purchased a shelving unit, from a seller in China. The seller had over 800 items sold and almost 100% positive feedback. The item was the last one (of five), and was shipping from China, which showed a several week arrival time. The price was decent but not a firesale price, so no obvious red flags".
How much lower than a 100% rating did the seller have? Did you actually check the seller's feedback profile page to see why the seller did not have a 100% feedback? Had you checked you might have found more red flags in the comments.
Open the link below and on the page that opens click on the Go To Best Answer button In that reply is information on how you can Appeal the dispute you lost, and what you need to do to get the information needed to win it. You have 30 days from receiving the message telling you the original dispute was closed to file the appeal. There is an Appeal button in that message.
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Need-advice-item-not-received/m-p/34621715#M496499
If you have waited more than 30 days since receiving the message You can try filing an item not received claim through PayPal or your card provider, but they too need proof you did not receive the item. PayPal now has an option for Shipped to wrong address on their site that you should use, instead of I have not received the item. However, you still need proof because they cannot get access to the shipping label information Address or Package type/size/weight, either.
"The recommendation is to turn to Ebay's social media channels and post there, as those locations are monitored by US-based support, who have the power to remedy a situation. But, I don't have any social media accounts and I'm not about to create any".
The next reply in the link above gives you links to ebay's social media site's. You may not want to use social media, but just because you open an account, doesn't mean you have to use it, and you can always close it if you want. However, why turn away from the best option for getting your money back?
eBay's Money Back Guarantee (MBG) first tier is done by computer, the second tier (Appeal) may be handled by a rep who works for a contracted 3rd party call/chat center, whose ebay playbook may not cover all issues, and their company does not allow them internet access from their work computer. Only the social media reps are actual ebay employees who do have the tools to investigate the provided proof and the power to issue refunds.
Since the fake tracking scam is popular because of the various shipping agencies privacy policies. You should sign up to use their Free enhanced tracking services, which can provide the proof needed to win a 2nd tier Appeal. USPS - Informed delivery, FedEx - Delivery manager, UPS - My Choice.